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| The path is not always straight |
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Fr. Tim Hickey's story seems like a blueprint for a life destined to serve. Tim came from a close family committed to being actively involved in social justice. "I grew up in an environment where we all understood our responsibility for people who had less than we did. We took clothes to Appalachia each fall and gathered toys for those families at Christmas time. As we grew older we had spirited discussions about why racism was ethically and morally wrong. Our life was punctuated with efforts to reach out to others."
As a high school freshman, Tim listened to his parish priest, a Maryknoll missionary whose incredible stories of adventure in foreign countries kept Tim spell-bound. "His compassion and openness to the people he ministered to overseas made me stop and think about what was important in life".
Tim felt called to become a priest while still very young and entered a junior seminary. In his experience there however, he didn't feel the Gospel was as alive for him as he experienced it within his parish and at home so he decided to return home and finish high school. He enjoyed his high school years both academically and socially and looked forward to entering college.
Tim attended Bowling Green State University where he had a professor of Cultural Anthropology who Tim respected very much. She suggested he take time to meditate every day. "I spent that time thinking about spiritual questions, listening to what was inside me, and examining my relationship with God, and how my life might make a difference."
As Tim continued to discern his particular call in life he took a summer job to defray his college expenses and the job eventually became permanent after college graduation.
"I ended up working as a manager in the finance department of a furniture company. The pay was great. I took vacations to Alaska. I owned two cars. I became engaged to a wonderful woman I had dated on and off for several years. My life was great, yet something was gnawing at me. I still questioned where I was going. I explain the experience this way. It was like I was walking through a library with my selection of books in hand and a book fell off a shelf in front of me. I put it back on the shelf and kept walking. Then, on another day in another part of the library, the same book falls at my feet again. I knew I had to make a decision. Should I choose work and marriage or investigate religious life and missionary work?"
Tim then explored lay ministry, getting involved after his office day with the jail ministry and soup kitchen at his church. "At this point, I felt perhaps I could get married, work, and remain involved in the ministry as a lay person. However as time went on I felt compelled to explore again whether I was called to become a religious. I had to choose between two good things. One wasn't a better choice than the other, it was a question of which choice I was being called to make."
As Tim explored various religious communities, he didn't see where he fit. He was frustrated and thought this might be a sign that religious life was not for him after all. He shared these thoughts with his associate pastor. The pastor said he "knew a group of guys" that he thought Tim should meet. Those "guys" were the Spiritans. "The first time I met them I knew something was happening. I began to read Spiritan writings and something about their language, how they lived, and the fact that they came together because it enabled them to do their ministry clicked with me," Tim explains. As part of his continuing dialogue with the Spiritans, Tim spent a long weekend visiting with them at Duquesne University and as he was walking down the steps to leave, he suddenly felt with a certainty, "This is it!"
"All of a sudden, the decision was easier. Something inside me drew me towards life as a Spiritan. I knew I was going to make a commitment to join the Spiritans."
Please use the discussion board if you wish to ask Tim further questions about his journey. Tim invites you to correspond with him in any way you are comfortable if you are searching for your spiritual direction at this time. As can be seen by Tim's story, life is rich with opportunity to serve and God has many surprises in store for those who journey with Him.
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